Horvath hit 20 for the Sixers.
nbl.com.au
Day 1 - Friday 8 September
Melbourne Tigers 63, Adelaide 36ers 56
The reigning NBL champion Melbourne Tigers started the Blitz in style with a 63-56 win over the Adelaide 36ers.
The Tigers got a good even scoring spread with Rashad Tucker, Dave Thomas and Stephen Hoare all carding 11 points. Nick Horvath had a game-high 20 for Adelaide.
The Melbourne Tigers took an early 19-7 lead with just over seven minutes left in the quarter on a Chris Anstey dunk to cap a 9-0 run for the Tigers.
A time-out by Adelaide coach Phil Smyth steadied the Sixers and Adelaide showed renewed intensity after the short break. Melbourne still held the ascendancy at the end of the half, 37-27, but the margin had been narrowed slightly to just 10 points.
Tigers star Thomas had nine points at the half and Tucker seven while Darren Ng provided a spark off the bench for the Sixers with eight points.
A fired-up Adelaide team went on an 8-0 run of tbheir own to start the quarter, all by the hand of new import Horvath. Adelaide closed to within one point, 39-38, with nine minutes to play before a three-point play from Melbourne's David Stiff steadied the ship.
The game remained close with the Tigers maintaining a three-point lead, 59-56, with 1:25 left in the game before Melbourne held on for the win.
Brisbane 57, Perth 45
The Brisbane Bullets got off to a strong start at the 2006 Blitz on Friday night at Coffs Harbour with an easy 57-45 victory over the Perth Wildcats in Pool A action.
Brisbane used a dominant first half and a pair of spectacular performances from new signing CJ Bruton and captain Sam Mackinnon to turn the game into an absolute rout. Despite a late Perth rally, it was over as a contest by halftime.
Bruton contributed 12 points, all in the first half (four triples) while Mackinnon was a dominant force all over the court, finishing with five points and eight rebounds while Cam Tragardh led his team's scoring with 12.
Only Paul Rogers made any impression for the Wildcats, finishing with 10, while Jeff Dowdell had nine.
Brisbane came into the tournament minus guard Stephen Black and star big men Mark Bradtke and Dusty Rychart, all out with injury, while the 'Cats showcased the entire group that will take the court in Perth's 25th season in the National Basketball League.
Both teams were scoreless for the first couple of minutes before Tony Ronaldson landed a wide-open triple. But Cam Tragardh was the man early for Brisbane, nailing eight of his club's first nine points as the Bullets looked to run at every opportunity against the bigger Wildcat squad.
Brisbane went on an 11-0 run in a four minute period as their quickness at the defensive end, keyed by Sam Mackinnon, was posing all kinds of problems for the Cats.
Paul Rogers bullocked his way inside for the three-point play, but it was all Brisbane at the midway point as Ebi Ere hit a floater in traffic to give his team a 16-6 lead.
The Bullets kept pouring it on, displaying a new-found defensive intensity that the 'Cats simply couldn't deal with. It got out to a massive 20-point lead with two minutes remaining.
At one point, Perth missed 12 straight field goals as the Bullets went on a massive 18-0 run courtesy of Bruton and Ere, who combined for 20 points to halftime, and CJ closed the scoring with a pull-up three in transition to give Brisbane a massive 35-9 advantage at the half.
Mackinnon continued the Wildcats' misery as he started the second with a jumper, and Tragardh continued to impress as the lead ballooned out to a mind-blowing 30, 41-11, with just two minutes gone.
Perth made a brief run thanks to Rogers, who was the only 'Cat doing any kind of damage, but Mackinnon found Dillon Boucher for the easy score to give Brisbane a 43-21 lead with six minutes remaining in the ballgame.
Coach Joey Wright ran his bench the rest of the way alongside the outstanding Mackinnon, and despite three late triples from Perth forward Jeff Dowdell, the Bullets were never in danger and cruised to the easy W to send a message that they are here in Coffs Harbour intent on winning this thing.
South Dragons 51, West Sydney Razorbacks 42
The South Dragons took to the court for their first official NBL game against the West Sydney Razorbacks on Friday night with an impressive 51-42 point win over the West Sydney Razorbacks.
With Pigs Star James Harvey watching from the sidelines, the Razorbacks appeared to struggle against the Dragons impressive transition offence.
In a close first 12-minute half, the Dragons grew a narrow three-point edge into a 10-point lead late in the first term, 31-21. The Dragons looked dangerous with new import Todd Fuller proving quite a handful close to the basket, finishing the game with 18 points.
The Dragons went into the main break up 35-28 as their former Adelaide 36er, Jacob Holmes, was also proving a handful from outside the permimeter.
The Pigs returned from the long break more focused and narrowed the deficit to four in the first two minutes before the Dragons re-asserted their ascendancy to take the win.
New Razorbacks recruit Liam Rush toped scored for the Pigs with 11 points while young gun Julian Khazzouh finished the game with seven points and six rebounds.
